The Endless Conflict
by TheManTimeForgot
Summary: Part 10. The past may guide us, but it does not rule us. What does the future bring to those destined to fall?
1. Piercing Light

"I-I'm not feeling s-so well…"

Epsilon clung to his weapon in desperation, his every move seeming to take all of his strength. His heartbeat was banging in his chest, making it hard to breathe. Nero and Helen, far ahead of him in this dank alley, were looking back at their struggling companion.

"What's the hassle? We kind of have a schedule to keep!" Helen huffed.

"It's his scar," Reasoned Nero. "There's been a slew of recent suicides in this region; the emotional turmoil is wreaking havoc on his body. Epsilon, how well can you hold up?"

"It's going to take a wh-while for me to get my strength back up. Just go on ahead and I'll catch up when I'm able."

Helen rushed off immediately after he finished the sentence. Nero stayed still for a moment, and then followed. Taking a few large breaths, Epsilon gained some composure back, and then kept walking forward. As he went on his way on a starry night, he spotted a group of people moving into a door on the side of a building, eyes glazed over. He felt a strange aura surround them and went along to investigate.

Inside the building everyone stood around muttering things to themselves. Epsilon couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could feel his scar getting worse; sapping the rest of his strength. Falling to his knees he tried to get out, but to no avail. He reached to his necklace again.

"Holy Bell!"

His cry was answered by the blue eyed angel of wind. Voiceless, she looked at Epsilon with concern.

"Set these people free from whatever has a hold on them."

She nodded in agreement and glowed with a light that kept getting brighter by the second. Soon the entire building was radiant, and Epsilon's strength returned to him. Once the light faded away, everyone looked around as if they were lost and gravitated to the man in armor and the blue cloak. Epsilon realized they thought he had some authority here.

"Go back to your homes," He said. "I'll see to it nothing happens to you."

Everyone filed out through the door they came in, Epsilon coming out last. When he was sure no one could see him he leaped up to the top of the building, put down his halberd, and brought out his guitar. Their homes were far off and in many directions, but with his ability he could see them all. He began to play another song that filled his head.

_Too much time on my hands, I got you on my mind._

_Can't ease this pain , so easily…_

_ When you can't find the words to say It's hard to make it through another day,_

_And it makes me wanna cry and throw my hands up to the sky!_

_So understand…_

_ Don't waste your time always searching for those wasted years… _

_Face up, make your stand! _

_And realize you're living in the golden years!_

Those people, although far away heard his singing and felt increasingly better on their way. Finished and content, he picked up his weapon and began to catch up with the others, but he was confronted with a strange girl before he even got off the roof. She was young with long black hair and dull blue eyes. Her clothing contrasted a white dress shirt with a red ribbon with a black skirt and black stockings. She stepped forward and gazed at Epsilon with a cold, expressionless face.

"Who are you?" She asked. It was rather comical, this girl a full foot shorter than him try to intimidate him. He smiled back at her with an attempt to break the ice, but with no luck.

"My name is Travis," He said. "I've come from quite a ways away, and just happened to stop by."

"What you did back there; why did you help them?"

"There's been numerous suicides around here. Those people were drowning in grief, if I hadn't acted, they would most likely be dead."

"But why you?"

"Why me?"

"Why is it your problem? What compels you to feel like you have to shoulder everyone's burdens?"

Epsilon looked out at the cityscape and sat on the roof edge, the girl sitting next to him. He placed his halberd out across their laps.

"It was when I got this. I don't like to fight; the feel of anything longer than a carving knife unsettled me, so when I was told," He looked over to her. "I was in dire straights. But I had good friends, and one of my closest pulled me to my feet and said to me 'Look, I know how you feel about this, but I also know that you would _never _leave anyone in peril if you could help it. With this, you can be the defender of the downtrodden and give them hope again!'"

He picked it up an held it against his shoulder. "I've needed some encouragement recently, but I know what I have to be now. I will do everything in my power to aid those who seek it."

"And your friend?" She said.

"There was a bad mission," Epsilon said, his eyes closed. "I was unconscious. He sacrificed his life so the rest of my team could get me out."

The girl was silent as he got up and walked away. As he left however, she sprung up.

"Travis," Her remark caught his attention. "Please stop."

"What?" He said, but his communication disk came on for the first time since he was separated.

_"Tr…vis respond…..Speak to me Travis…."_

"Psyche! Psyche!" Epsilon shouted, he tried to leave the roof, but the girl was suddenly right in front of him radiating a purple aura, a gun in her hand.

"Out of my way, my team is calling for backup!"

"You won't make it to them." She said. Shots were fired at his breastplate, which pinged off harmlessly. Dodging until the clip was empty he was bewildered at the turn of events.

"Slow down!" He swung the butt of his weapon at her before she could react, knocking the gun out of her hands.

"Did I trip a nerve? I thought we were getting along!" Epsilon decided to call on another angel to help. This time, Gorgeous Rose came, wrapped in thorny vines. With her power increasing his sight, he saw right through the girl, into her wants and desires. He was short of breath when it was over his mind pushed to the edge. Soon his composure returned, and he matched her stoic face with one of his own.

"I see our ends will not meet."

"No they won't." She said. Wings erupted from her back, black and glittering like stars.

Helen and Nero came flying to Epsilon's side and landed, Nero took one look at their opponent and balked.

"I should have left you behind; I don't know how to start with you…"

"You could start by lending a han-"

"No! Every time I do we land into trouble, and now you managed the impossible: _you pissed off Homura!"_

"What, this kid?" Helen said. "We can take her!"

Nero nearly slapped the both of them, but the bullets began to fly again.


	2. Cobbled Together

"Hey, it looks like we made it!"

Omega was gleeful as he walked down the sidewalk of this new city, giving the biggest smile to the rest of his team behind him. The streets were on the slow side at night, but for these four, the streetlights were all the company they needed.

"Calm down Omega," Called Rho. "You're chomping at the bit, we all are, but you will need your focus more than your enthusiasm."

Upsilon moved ahead and surveyed their surroundings. "He will not have to. This is not the place."

"It isn't?"

"How do you know?"

"You did not think I would comb through every second, every inch of that encounter? This is not it."

Omega demeanor grew a bit more sour. "Do you have to be right all of the time?"

"It is why I am here."

_"Despite my disagreements with Johnathan, he is correct;"_ Psyche chimed in. _"Neither Hild or Mara are here."_

"Then what is here?" Gamma said. "Search for any and all irregular signals in the area."

_"Say please?"_

"Please, O Great Assistant!" Gamma got down on his knees and raised his hands into the sky. Omega chuckled at his position.

_"You win for now, but I'll remind you that you have to come home eventually." _There was a pause as they waited.

_"Wait…I think I found…no way! It's Travis!"_

"You found Epsilon?"

_"There's a lot of interference, but I'm sure of it!"_

"Where is he?"

"I can think of a place." Rho pointed at the horizon, where there were intermittent bursts of light.

"Cut through the park!" On Gamma's order, they ran through the line of trees to mask the speed they were moving at. Omega, out in front for now, saw a white flash cross his vision which he snatched up as he came out. The rest only saw a mass of bright colors before smashing into it. Omega turned to see his catch: a white and pink cat-like thing with a red circle on its back. Holding the creature by the scruff of the neck, he stared into beady red eyes.

"Well, you're like nothing I've ever seen before."

"I can say the same about you." It spoke back without opening its mouth.

Omega grimaced. "Oh _great_, it can talk. Guys-" He looked over to see his team stunned, facing four girls in some kind of frilly formal wear, all four of them were armed. "Just keeps getting better…"

"So, what's the game plan?" Rho asked as he positioned his shield to defend himself from the wide spearhead of a red haired teenager.

"We stand down." Gamma said.

"Against _children_?" Upsilon exclaimed, his sword and the blade of his opponent in blue at the ready.

"It's not for your sake." Gamma's statement got Rho and Upsilon to notice that Gamma currently was staring into the barrel of a old-fashioned rifle held in the hands of an older blond girl. At her feet was a animated pink stuffed animal wearing a black coat.

"Need help?" Omega said, holding up the creature in his hand.

"I'll get by without it; now is the time for diplomacy." Gamma looked at the person before him with a smile.

"Ms. Tomoe," Upon hearing that, the girl's face twitched in shock. "You really don't want to fight us, and I really _really_ don't want to get shot today. So lets just put the weapons down and talk this out like leaders should."

She seemed to soften but the gun was still raised. She glanced to Omega, the cat-thing still in his hand.

"Kyubey, do you know anything about this?"

The creature responded to the response. "This is an strange occurrence, I've never seen anyone like these people before."

"We're tourists passing by." Rho explained.

"Armed like this?" The redhead accused. "Your a little more than just a pair of lost visitors."

"I was inspired to take up a similar cause to your own." Gamma said. "The armor and weaponry are of my design."

"And what's their excuse?" Omega retorted. "They're barely adults, and yet they think they can fight?"

"Come over here and say that!" Her taunt didn't phase Omega, but all the same he let Kyubey go. It was not afraid, or maybe it was; no one could tell with it's unmoving face. It trotted over to the side of the girl in blue, who looked down at it.

"Kyoko," She said. "They're not here to fight."

"You buy that story Sayaka?"

"They look just as confused as us," She reasoned. "And the one in the back could have killed Kyubey but didn't. We aren't the ones they're after."

Omega extended his hand towards Sayaka. "Finally! We reach a breakthrough!"

"So," Mami said as she lowered her rifle. "What brings you to Mitakihara Town?"

Suddenly a crash was heard and they turned to see a plume of dirt and dust in a courtyard ,and they all ran over to see what it was. In the center of a crater was Epsilon, fatigued but otherwise unharmed. His armor shone and he had wings on his back. Looking up to see his friends, he gasped.

"Nice to see you're not dead." Omega said flatly.

"Guys!" Epsilon ran over and hugged Gamma.

"How'd you find your way here?" Gamma asked.

"You won't believe who I found."

"Who?"

_"Johann…"_

Upsilon looked out to see Helen standing across from them. Soon Nero joined her side, wearing a blue cloak. Seeing them, he flourished the cloak and bowed.

"Greetings Mami, Sayaka, Kyoko, Bebe, Bunnycat."

"Kyubey." It corrected.

"Of course." he said. Walking up to Gamma, Epsilon let him go so he could speak. They stared at each other, lost in their experiences.

"I'm in a bit of a bind." Gamma said, holding up his left hand and with a burst of fire the skin turned into glossy obsidian.

"I was told." Nero admitted. "Before that, we have a more immediate crisis to attend to."

"How big?"

"Homura." Nero looked to the far side of the field, where she walked out of the tree line.

"So, anyway," Nero unsheathed his khopesh. "Wanna help me take her down?"

Gamma smiled at Nero and drew his katana as well.


	3. The Anti Magical Girl

"Shields in front!"

Gamma's order was heard and Rho and Upsilon immediately got between Homura and the rest of the group deflecting the small arms fire coming from her. Using it as cover Mami began shooting back with as many guns she could summon. The gunfire did nothing as Homura disappeared and reappeared, never letting up.

"We need more stable cover!" Rho said.

"We _need _to get out of this field." Helen shot back.

"Back out into the streets." Advised Upsilon.

"Then go!" Shouted Omega. They ran as fast as they could out of the park and onto a nearby road. Finding a nearby building, Helen broke one of its windows and the rest followed in with her for shelter. The building was five stories tall and provided good enough cover for all of them.

"Everyone okay?" Gamma asked.

"Not really." Epsilon tending to Sayaka, who had taken a bullet to her shoulder.

Nero moved over and saw the injury. "She'll be fine."

"She's been shot!"

"She'll be up within the minute, so worry about more important things!" Nero's demand was met with Epsilon's derision.

"Take the bullet out if it makes you feel better."

Epsilon nodded and turned back to Sayaka. "This will hurt." He said as he placed his hand over the wound. The flesh shifted under the skin and a lump of metal was pulled out of the wound which was tossed aside. Sayaka hissed in response to the procedure but soon recovered. A blue light radiated from the wound in a series of musical notes repeating a basic scale, when the notes finished there was mended skin left. Epsilon looked with wonder at her regeneration.

"Like I said," Nero pointed out to Epsilon. "Worry about more important things."

Gamma tapped Mami's shoulder, grabbing her attention over her shooting.

"If we could provide some cover," He suggested. "Can you disarm her?"

"I can, but I don't see how that's possible when I'm the only one with guns."

Upsilon shuffled over to them, his size making it tough to stay out of sight. He summoned a hologram of a oversized pistol and when he grabbed the handle it became corporeal. After checking the magazine and bolt mechanism, he tossed it to Rho, who marveled at the weapon.

"You _made _a Bolt Pistol?" He said.

"Now seems like a good time for overkill." Upsilon said as he handed out pistols to Nero, Epsilon, Gamma, and Omega. "Empty all rounds at Homura; Helen and me will vault over to engage directly."

"And you think you will survive that?" Asked Sayaka.

"Don't worry about us," Helen boasted. "We've pulled stunts like this before. Ready Johann?"

Upsilon addressed Nero and Gamma. "Any weak points to exploit?"

Nero answered first. "As a Magical Girl like these three she only has one: her 'Soul Gem'."

"Where is it?"

"A purple crystal on her left hand…" On those words Upsilon and Helen came out of cover and rushed Homura as the mass-reactive shells of bolters sailed past. Surprised at the ferocity of the assault, Homura didn't catch Mami run over to the side of the building they had occupied. Soon she was swamped by the relentless attack of the two the clips ran dry, Nero looked out at Helen and Upsilon with disbelief. Moving in and out with each other any other opponent would be cut to shreds, but their blades barely reached her before she disappeared again to pour more fire into any target available.

"Problem?" Gamma said to Nero as they stopped firing.

"I heard these two worked well together, but I didn't expect such haste." Nero said nearly breathless.

"Upsilon usually doesn't work without more information." Epsilon added.

"Well we met creatures like these before." Gamma explained.

Omega looked over to the two girls next to him. "Do you want her dead?"

Sayaka looked horrified at the mere mention of killing Homura, Kyoko just shrugged her shoulders.

"You think it will come to that?" Asked Epsilon. "You think Upsilon will kill her?"

"Maybe not, but I know Helen will and Upsilon might not stop."

"We may have our disagreements," Kyoko said. "But we don't want to kill her."

"Upsilon, did you get that?"

"If that's important to you, then I have good news."

Epsilon, Omega, Sayaka and Kyoko looked out into the streets to find the others looking out for any sign of Homura.

Kyoko stormed out into the street. "You lost her?"

"Of course they did." Nero walked over to Upsilon. "If you left me time to explain, I would have told you that she can stop time."

"That explains a lot." Said Helen.

"It does." Continued Upsilon. "We would have ben able to track her if she were just moving fast."

"But how?" Gamma said. "Homura does not have her buckler."

"From behind!" Epsilon shouted as he saw Homura down the road, holding a rocket launcher almost as large as she was. Before she could fire, a yellow ribbon flew out and wrapped around her hand. Mami was on the other side pulling as hard as she could, spoiling Homura's aim. There was a massive roar as the rocket fired, and an explosion as it hit the building that was their shelter. The building groaned, but stood firm, the group moved away from it anyway.

"Alright!" Omega shook Sayaka and Kyoko. "It seems you've got this handled. Go on you crazy kids!"

The two Magical Girls dashed out to join their friend and they performed well beyond their years. They move faster and just as well as any of them, and with Homura grappled, they had her pinned. Everyone else stood by and watched.

Upsilon spoke up "This is mildly disconcerting. Homura is not putting up the same kind of fight."

"They've fought her before." Said Nero. "Experience counts for a lot, that's why Omega let them go."

Omega shifted in place. "To be completely honest, I thought you or Gamma would have a plan to stop her; if it were that easy they it wouldn't have taken this long with all of us."

"So you mean to tell us that you used three girls as bait?" Interrupted Epsilon.

"They're only bait if you forget to pull the line up in time."

"Another angel perhaps?" Helen suggested to Epsilon.

"Hmm…I don't have one that can handle time-space distortions." His face darkened. "Maybe Urd's can force a way through."

"You mean Wyrd." They all turned to see Rho walk up to Epsilon.

"I'm pretty sure I said it right."

"Out of all of us, who's the one who actually took Theology in college? I recognize the translation errors, stop me if these names are familiar: Wyrd, Verdandi, Skuld-"

"That name I know."

"Those are the names of the three major Norns, the watchers of time. If you have a portion of their power, we might have a chance."

"Travis, can you summon Holy Bell, Noble Scarlet, and World of Elegance at the same time?" Asked Nero.

"It'll be tough," Epsilon admitted. "But I'll manage." Focusing harder than ever before he brought forth all three. His breathing became ragged and he staggered as he took a step.

"Angels of the Goddesses of the Past, Present, and Future!" Gamma called out. "We are dealing with a force that twists time and space to their will! Aid us and we shall bring order again!"

The three angels looked at each other and nodded.

"Now we can make a pla-"

Gamma words were cut off as a series of explosions erupted from the building they left as the entire front gave way and began to collapse. Before it fell entirely, Rho bounded to the ruined supports and with all his might managed to hold it up. When the others came to assist he waved them off.

"I can deal with this! Just bring whatever that thing is down!"

Gamma snapped his head over to the fight to see that the detonation startled everyone but Homura, who kicked her way free of Mami's clutch and with a massive flap of her wings flew back to the rooftops. He knew there was little time left before she escaped.

"World of Elegance, stay with me and Nero. Omega and Epsilon take Holy Bell."

The angels drifted to their respective teams. Nero, standing next to Gamma noticed that the obsidian growths had now spread to both his arms.

"Victor," He said. "You sure about this?"

"Rho's going to have a building fall on his head, and Epsilon is going to have his soul shredded; he can't hold three angels forever. This has to end; everyone forward!"

They charged at top speed, the three Magical Girls just catching them in time in order to join up. Kyoko, Nero and Gamma went straight down the middle, supercharged with power.

"So this is what it feels like…" Nero mused.

"Well, it's about time." Said Kyoko. "Gonna do something for once?"

"Just watch!" Gamma roared as he became wreathed in flame and began to hover across the ground.

_"Consume By Fire!"_

An unbelievable torrent of bright orange flames expanded from his hands and towards Homura. With the Norn's power negating her own ability to stop time, she had to move quickly to avoid the attack. Every near miss did take its toll however: the heat of the fire drained strength from her body and made it a burden to keep moving. She knew she would need to turn and fight with her best weapon. She pulled out a purple bow and arrow and began to fire back at them. The first arrow clipped Gamma's shoulder, breaking off flakes of black glass and causing him to stumble and fall and force Nero to catch him. The next shot came at Kyoko but it harmlessly passed through her; she was only a illusion. She was truly on the rooftops as well. Her spear extended to triple its length and snaked towards Homura.

"Let's not waste time." Said Helen. "I haven't had this much fun in ages, hurry up Sayaka!"

The young girl was fast but she was slowly lagging behind, Upsilon gave a brief huff of breath and dropped back next to her.

"This is your enemy and your ally is in danger. How far are you willing to go to help her?"

"Everything I'm able to give!" The conviction in her voice was strong enough to get Noble Scarlet to float beside her, pumping her fist and cheering her own.

"Then go on."

Sayaka, with newfound vigor, was able to out pace both Upsilon and Helen. Jumping up to the roof, she slashed out with her cutlass and would cut Homura's arm; enough to make drawing difficult. Upsilon stopped and so did Helen.

"Stay with me." He said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Helen was initially furious, but the touch of Upsilon completely defused her.

"Always." She responded, giving him a soft smile. The two without a single word began to draw the water from the pipes under the city. After gathering enough they began to spin the flow remarkably fast. Hurling it with great force, the water crashed into the corner behind Homura, crushing the building's edge. Sayaka and Kyoko were pushing her towards the edge with combined strikes. Falling off the edge to escape Homura continued to run down the street.

Epsilon was starting to drift into unconscious again but was held up by Omega.

"Stay up!" Omega yelled.

"It's so hard…" Epsilon's voice was barely above a whisper. "So hard to hold it together…"

"We are not losing again!" He picked Epsilon up. "Mami, get us a vantage point!"

She led them to another rooftop and began to fire down at Homura. Omega flew out to assist Sayaka and Kyoko. Epsilon decided to summon his bow and Holy Bell copied his actions. As he fired, he called Rho.

"Are you okay?"

Rho was still struggling with the building, the supports shifting and groaning in rebellion. Rho was looking around the rubble to see the two people he went back for. Soon Kyubey and Bebe managed to escape the building and turned to see the man responsible for buying enough time for their escape.

"C-come on now," Rho stammered. "Get going!"

"Why come back?" Kyubey asked. "You must have known you wouldn't escape."

"Everyone else forgot you were back here." Rho paused to shift the load. "I'm not the kind of guy who would let death stand in the way of doing the right thing."

The creature stared at Rho for a while. "Under different circumstances, I would have made a contract with you." He then left leaving Bebe alone.

"Will you be okay?"

Rho's face tightened. "This is the easy part. I thought it would be worse."

"I'll make sure you aren't forgotten." Bebe then ran off as well. Rho gazed out to see Sayaka, Kyoko, and Omega duel Homura, fighting through all the injuries they left on each other. Catching Gamma and Nero off to the side he had a flash of inspiration.

"Hey Gamma," Gamma turned around to see Rho. "Open the channel up for Nero."

"Okay." He took off his comlink and left it in his hand. Nero leaned in to be heard.

"Alright Rho, what are you asking about?"

"You two know a lot about this place right? So what's the deal with this girl?"

Nero collected his thoughts. "Homura Akemi. She's rather peculiar, not really a Magical Girl, but not entirely a Witch either." Nero exhaled in frustration. "This would have been easier if she were Homulily…"

"Witch?"

"Monsters created from the souls of former Magical Girls." Gamma answered. "Fight long enough and corruption eventually sets in. Homura's been at it for almost ten years, but she gave into her misery like all the rest."

"Yeah, and that misery seeps into everyone and everything Victor." Nero argued back. "Or did you forget that people commit suicide in the presence of Witches?"

Rho heard that and he was shocked at the revelation. The adrenaline allowed him to lift the structure with his left hand while the other was brought under his hip.

"Just like she taught you… _Fukiage_!"

His right hand rose up and drove it into he concrete, cracking the building in two. Everyone stopped when they heard the boom and saw the building fall. Rho walked out of it as if nothing happened, but something did change; his right gauntlet had tripled in size including the parts around his fist. Where his elbow should have been, there was a massive cylinder that stuck out following the path of the arm. Homura snapped out of it first and fired a shot off at Rho. In response he brought his shield out to meet the arrow which flashed when it hit. Despite being under so much strain from before, he turned away the blow. Unfettered, he placed that giant hand out to the side of his face and the other out towards Homura to take aim.

"_Hayate_!" His word followed his punch and at its completion, the cylinder slammed home and a great gust of wind came from the fist, barreling towards Homura.

"Not again…" Omega dragged Sayaka and Kyoko down, out of the way of the burst. Homura tried to follow but Nero had hooked her with his twin sickles and wrangled her back in the way. The attack knocked Nero down, but sent Homura down the street and through the skyscraper at the end of the road. Getting back to their feet and back onto the road, Gamma and his friends, Nero and Helen, and the Magical Girls walked to where Homura fell.

"Well, that was sure convenient." Kyoko said looking over at Rho, who was curious about this new appendage.

"Right…" Rho's response was drawn out and unfocused as his focus was on his arm, and as quickly as it came, the gauntlet returned to its original state.

"So," She continued. "Why the sudden show?"

"This person is responsible for the suicides of many people. Those are souls that can't be saved. Homura Akemi is equally responsible for their actions, and as a man of God I must stop her."

"You believe in God?" She asked in shock.

"Since birth." Rho smiled at Kyoko. "And you?"

She turned away and walked faster to get away from him. Rho was puzzled, but they had made it to Homura, who was still reaching for her bow even as she was coughing up blood. Nero kicked it aside and placed his foot on her wrist to expose her Soul Gem. The others gathered around her to keep her in check. Rho knelt down to her and just watched this gasping form still driven to fight with crushing sorrow.

"Homura," Rho began. "You were once a Magical Girl like these three?" He motioned to Mami, Sayaka, and Kyoko.

"I…was."

Rho put out his hand. "I do not know why you fight each other, but it is clear to me that you are lost. Falling in and of itself is not a sin, as we all fall eventually. The sin comes in allowing ourselves to never rise again to do what is good and just in the eyes of the Lord. We are all here to serve a purpose, and nothing keeps you from serving again. Turn away from this path forever and you will receive forgiveness."

Homura reached up with a shaky hand and pushed it aside. "Never. Not as long as I can protect her here. I can do that only if I remain a demon."

"Then I believe it is too late for you." In Rho's empty hand appeared his gleaming sword.

"Wait!" Sayaka cried out. "You promised she wouldn't die!"

Helen turned to her. "Does it really matter?"

"She refuses to submit," Upsilon added. "And is a threat merely by existing."

Kyoko spoke up. "It's not your say." She put a hand on Rho's blade. "You are in no position to judge anyone if you are truly God's servant!"

Rho smiled. "Those are true words. Who among you has jurisdiction over this one?"

Mami stepped forward. "I have the most experience, it should be me."

"But it isn't." Nero looked down at Mami's feet. "It's yours isn't it Bebe?"

The pink thing not unlike a stuffed animal came out of Mami's shadow. As it walked over to Homura, it transformed into a white haired preteen girl in a pink dress.

"Rho was right, we were sent with a purpose." Nero got off Homura's arm. "Bring your master here, I'm sure she's been wanting to talk to this one."

Nero left, much to Helen's dismay and the confusion of everyone else other than Gamma.

"We must be going," Gamma said. "There is so much that needs to be done, and not much time to do it."

"Good riddance." Was Kyoko response.

"I think she means good luck." Mami said quickly.

"We hope for the best in your journey." Sayaka's farewell brightened Gamma's spirit and the rest of his friends, and Helen, went with him. What they didn't see was the return of the light in a prison of darkness.


	4. Ultimate Grudge

"Looks bad, Victor."

"I had to do something Nero."

"You always have to do something don't you?" Nero had been berating Gamma since leaving Mitakihara Town into the endless area bridging reality. It had been many things before, but now it was a grassy field. "I've done a decent job keeping my head down until you guys crashed into me. Now it seems like I can't get anywhere without something going wrong!"

"It's not going to get better." Gamma pointed up. Nero looked into the sky and saw a star brighter than anything in the night.

Nero was in awe. "Is that…"

"Yep." Finished Gamma. "We've had our own share of bad luck. Admittedly the defeat of Homura has made me feel more confident."

"She's tough, but the enemy you're after isn't in the same league."

"It's a start; every victory means a lot when you feel strung around." He saw Epsilon, Rho, and Omega trading stories of the ventures and battles they've had. Away from them was Upsilon and Helen, saying nothing to each other, just walking together. For a brief second, he thought Upsilon had chuckled.

"Gamma!" Nero nudged him to shake him out of his daze. "Come back to Earth, we need to come up with a plan."

Gamma came to. "Right." He gathered everyone around.

"Look, we'll start at the beginning: what does Hild want from you?" Nero said.

Rho spoke first. "She's a demon, all that she desires is control and power."

"She is at war," Upsilon followed. "And requires resources."

"We are assets; she needs us to help her." Epsilon realized.

"Hild knows our secrets; the things we keep from even ourselves." Omega said. "She will use those to tear us apart."

"Those are tactics, short term things." Helen wondered aloud. "There's no strategy behind it. What does the endgame look like?"

Upsilon nodded in agreement. "She has no guarantee that this plan will work, and yet risked us dying for it. If the plan goes up in smoke if we refuse or die, that's a near infinite amount of risk. That's not a gamble, that's chaos."

"Hild plays fast and loose with everyone's lives," Nero clarified. "Including her own. I don't think she knew Helen and I would be here, or that we would be so strong." He then turned to Gamma. "That might be our only chance."

Gamma let all of the information rattle about his head. "With the Star of Misfortune hanging above all of our heads, I think more fighting is all we have in store for us. After all of that, Hild will still be at the end holding all of the cards…"

"Then we raise!" Helen shouted. "There's still a lot more ground to cover, and as long as we can at the very least act tough, even someone with her strength has to fold!"

_"I have to admit," _Psyche added. _"You are a tough unit put together, but much more work needs to be done before you're ready to beat her."_

"Could we win?" Asked Epsilon.

"Of course!" Rho's voice was filled with resolve. "No demon is invincible; Hild has lost before, and she will again."

"Together we're the greatest team of fighters any universe has to offer!" Omega said.

"I'm not sure this constitutes a 'team'." Gamma corrected, worry lined his voice as he looked around. "Upsilon, could you replicate a pair of communicators for Nero and Helen?"

"At once sir." Upsilon's gauntlet lit up with holographic representations that soon became real. The two affixed the disks to their right ears.

_"If you are able, say your names for registry."_ Psyche requested.

"Prometheus Nero."

"Helen."

_"That's it?"_

"Is any more really needed?"

_"I guess not. Anyways I hope we can put old quarrels aside, and if not, well we do have you outnumbered."_

"That is true…" Helen's words trailed off and her dull red eyes drifted onto Upsilon, who met her stare.

"But we have business to attend to." Upsilon finished. They both walked away from the group and faced each other. Nothing happened for a while until Upsilon threw down his shield, grabbed his breastplate and with the hiss of the latches he lifted it up and cast it aside. Under it was a series of metal plates that wrapped around his body; not with the soft yellow of AX, but grey like iron with sharp black edges, the telltale sign of Obsidian Steel.

"Your dress has seen better days." Upsilon commented as he continued to remove parts of his armor to reveal more of the plates.

Helen noticed that her white dress had various burns and rips and huffed at the sight. "Well, I didn't care much about this thing anyway." She grabbed the collar and ripped the entire gown off, showing the same kind of armor under the fabric. She unsheathed her weapon, a claymore with three edges.

"How long have we done this?"

"Twenty six years."

"Has it really been that long?" Helen held her head with her off-hand. "Do…you ever miss the time we had?"

"If I do, does it matter?" Upsilon's words were softer than normal. "This ends only one way, you and I know this." He readied himself.

Helen cackled at his response. "You always have to be right, don't you?"

"It is why I am here." They ran at each other and their blades met with a massive clang. Every blow was fierce, each seeking to maim and kill its target. Gamma and the rest moved towards the battle, only to be halted by an invisible force.

"Don't do anything stupid." A girl came down from the sky, one with a jacket and gloves on a well as a skirt and stockings. On her neck was a skull pendant and on her cheeks were red shaped ovals. "But, then again I really stopped caring, you've been enough of a hassle as is."

"Eihwaz!" Gamma roared, hand quick to the hilt of his katana. Nero spotted it and held it down.

"I'm assuming that Hild was too busy to meet us?" Nero assumed.

Eihwaz's brow furrowed. "The Daimakaicho has been preparing for your arrival."

"I am honored that we have taken so much of your effort." Nero bowed to her, then placed his hand on the barrier.

"So this is one of your famous traps. What's the condition on this one?"

The demon stuck her thumb out at the struggle between Helen and Upsilon. "The conclusion of this fight. We've got a bet going that Upsilon will win; he's a tough customer."

"The conclusion? Don't you want something more definite?"

"This is definite." Omega sat down on the ground. "This fight ends when one dies."

Eihwaz clapped her hands at the remark. "Bingo! A clever one among the bunch! I must admit Mara might screw things up more often than not, but she has always been good at surveillance. Helen had been looking for Upsilon for this fight and was fully expecting to die. Why not give them that chance now?"

"Does that mean," Epsilon poked. "That letting me go was part of the plan?"

She didn't answer, but still continued to address Nero. "I know who you are, and we needed you to meet up with the rest of these hapless fools." She put her hands on the back of her head and smiled. "You didn't think you would find yourselves did you?"

Rho bore down on the significantly smaller girl. "Laugh all you want, you'll lose, like always."

"Much like this fight, your outcome will once again be death." She said with no fear. "So let's just watch this play out, it's not like you have a choice."

They were helpless as they viewed the battle: both Upsilon and Helen's faces were furious, each swing carrying as much malice as was capable. As metal crashed into metal with nothing seeming to yield, they both broke off the engagement.

"_Verdammt,_" Helen said between panting, blood streaked her white hair and face. "I forgot how tough this was with just my _Kralle…"_

"If killing either of us was that easy," Upsilon replied with a shaky voice, as he was equally wounded. "We would not be here now."

Helen discarded her sword. "I guess I'll have to try something else."

"So will I."

Helen reached towards the ground and yanked out a slender vine with thorns and slashed Upsilon in the face in one fluid motion. He reeled from the blow, thin red marks on his face. Upsilon responded with summoning his _Panzerfaust _and throwing a left hook to her midsection. She dodged that, but she didn't expect the right uppercut from an exact replica of the shield hit her sternum, sending her flying.

She did manage to land on her feet, and dodged the next few swings from Upsilon's giant fists. Ducking, Helen grabbed his wrists and wrestled him to the ground, beating him. Bringing out his sword again he manipulated its shape so it looked more like a spear. Using it to pry her off, he then began to stay on his toes, cutting and thrusting with precision. With no way in, Helen brought out her outstretched hand and knocked Upsilon back with a burst of wind. Following up her distraction was a series of chains coming from her arm to grapple the spear away. Torn from his hands, _Maschinengott_ reverted to it's regular shape as it tumbled away.

Upsilon was shocked but still focused, he brought his shield up to repel the next attack. Helen was absolutely giddy with the rush of combat, pushing away all of the pain and doubt. She ran at him, her laugh echoing out and chilling the blood of everyone except Upsilon and Eihwaz.

"Johann!" She screamed as she came closer. "You haven't changed one bit!"

"Not exactly true!" He called back. Holding his ground until she was almost upon him, he drove his shield in front of Helen, the center glowing with a pink light. It erupted with a grand light and bloomed rapidly into a barrier, knocking her back but not down. She showed interest in this ability, so much so that she stopped just to look at it.

"Where'd you learn those attacks: the spear and the boxing? Whomever it was, they must have made quite an impression."

"I got them from a powerful group of warriors," Upsilon voice swelled with pride. "They have lived to see all of humanity; such knowledge is worthy of replication."

"But not perfection?"

"All will be made perfect in my form. Even with their experiences and skill once we meet again they will be ground to sand beneath me. What about you?"

"I've seen the power of the gods themselves." Helen boasted. "A very potent energy far greater than anything I've been able to manage."

Upsilon smiled. "Try to get through my barrier."

Helen sprung back and flung a line of electricity at the wall. It leaped across, burning away the shield wherever it went. Upsilon shook his head and brought it down.

"It needs more work," Upsilon admittied. "But I can match your attack." His hand opened up and a massive bolt of lightning shot out as if from the sky. It sent Helen diving out of the way. The crack of thunder stunned everyone except Eihwaz. It twisted and forked, spreading almost out of control, until he held his arm high to discharge the rest into the air. Even after that, Upsilon was wholly uninterested by his own display.

Helen rushed to her feet. "What was that!"

"That was Hild," Upsilon stated walking towards her. "Not even a fragment of her power, nowhere close to full potential."

"It's incredible…"

"We can not defeat such a force alone." Upsilon was face to face Helen now, but he was no longer armed and nothing in his face or body language said he wanted any more of this. He reached out his hand to her and she just looked at it quizzically.

"You are sparing me? Strange; you've been obsessed with killing every opponent you face in order to get to me. This isn't how I trained you, so why this? Why now?"

His head turned away in shame. "Victory or death are the only things worth recognition." Upsilon said. "I must win against this enemy, or at least die trying. When this is over, we can kill each other then."

Helen's forced Upsilon's head forward to see a face full of understanding. "Johann, you have always been loyal to me; right by my side no matter what. I swear you will not face this alone, I'll be right here…"

She embraced him and brought him close to her. Upsilon was so filled with emotion that he collapsed and Helen didn't let go, allowing him to drag him down. Then she saw Eihwaz, who was now stunned as well.

"Do you mind?" Helen said matter-of-factly. "We're having a moment, so just go away and I won't have to torture you to the edges of sanity."

Eihwaz was furious, a strange black shape leaking out from beneath her clothes. "You'd better be worth keeping around!" She flew away from them, and the two got to their feet. They looked around and saw the rest of the team was still dazed.

"I think we should help them up Johann." Helen suggested with a sly tone.

Upsilon nodded as he put the AX armor back on. "Agreed."

Standing side by side, they addressed them with a strong presence behind their words.

_"Um Ihre Füße!"_

Everyone stood up immediately at the declaration. Omega scanned the skies but could not spot the small demon. Gamma couldn't keep himself from smiling, and Epsilon fought off a migraine as he began to talk.

"Who was that?"

"That," Gamma moved ahead of the group. "Was Hild's third ranked demon."

_"So Hild is having issues with us." _Deduced Psyche.

"If she's bringing this much firepower to bear on us, it can only mean good things." Gamma pointed out, "Keeping the pressure on is the next priority. It might mean a few more trips."

"Then there's no time to waste!" Omega had found the next door and opened it. They all poured in, but when it was Helen's turn, she quickly turned around, grabbed Upsilon's collar and planted a huge kiss right on his lips which he happily received.

"You are _mine_ Johann." Helen said once the kiss ended.

He in turn held the back of her neck tight. "As are you mine, and no one will ever take us away from each other. Not as long as either of us still live."

* * *

><p><em>An odd occurrence, this Upsilon has found loyalty in a different place. Maybe they're not the same...<em>

_But does that make them stronger or weaker?_


End file.
